An association, organized to bring out the best and give the best to its member federations, the Arab Chess Federation is a mother to various chess federations. The federations currently associated and benefitting from this mother federation are a combination of Northern Africa and Southern Asia nations.
These countries include:
Algeria
Bahrain
Egypt
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Libya
Mauritania
Morocco
Palestine
Qatar
Somalia
Sudan
Syria
Tunisia
United Arab Emirates
Yemen
The above list is not a matter of importance, rather they are only listed in alphabetical order.
Over the past half decade, these federations have formed a closed knit group and helped each other to develop the chess industries of their federations. Although, the top players still ensue from both the northern parts of Africa and the United Arab Emirates, one can see the effect on the other nations within their jurisdiction.
Owing to the success of the Africa Online Individual Chess Championship (AOICC) 2021, both in organization and strength of play; the Arab Chess Federation president, Sheikh Saud bin Abdul Aziz Al Mualla, sealed the partnership deal with the leadership of the Africa Chess Confederation, to allow chess playing Africans participate in the upcoming Arab Individual Open Chess Championships, which would be held online.
For this reason, the event has been tagged the Arab-African Online Individual Open Chess Championship (AAOIOCC) 2021. This partnership is geared toward ensuring that:
The level of play for both Arabs and Africans is raised to compete favorably against the global top players.
There is competitive activity and skill development in the game.
Communication is smoothened between players of both regions.
There is cooperation between the Arab Chess Federation and the Africa Chess Confederation.
With the above goals being set in motion via the upcoming championship, both mother bodies have agreed to bring players within their jurisdictions together (to play and earn), especially in this period of a global pandemic ravaging the world.
The maiden Arab-African Online Individual Chess Championships will hold from the 25th to the 27th of February (just about a week from now).
Kindly note that registration is free! However, the rules of engagement are highlighted below.
General Terms & Conditions of the Championship
- It is prohibited to use any kind of chess engines or programs or any auxiliary means (cheating) of any kind, including assisting any other person during the championship.
- The championship is monitored by the arbiters and the Anti-cheating Committee and by the management of the championship, which is the website Lichess.org.
- To any player who is caught violatingParagraph 1 of this clause, a personal penalty will be applied, which is the denial of participation in all upcoming Arab Chess Federation and African Chess Confederation internet
championships. Additionally, if a player has obtained any of the prescribed prizes, the prize will be withdrawn from him/herand given to the player who follows him according to the order of winners. - The decisions and judgments issued by the Arbiters and Anti-Cheating Committee are final and not subject to any kind of appeal.
- The Arbiters and the Anti-Cheating Committee have the right to make decisions during the championship even 12 hours after the championship ends.
This championship is billed to hold in four (4) stages, which includes:
Preliminary Stage
Men’s Semifinal
Women’s Final
Men’s Final
The time control for the tournament is stated at three (3) minutes with an additional two (2) seconds per move, from the first move.
During the first preliminary round of games, all players are welcomed to participate (FIDE RATED OR NOT), as long as they are Arabs and Africans with a FIDE ID or a rating of 1999 and below (according to the FIDE list for January 2021).
Kindly note that the preliminary event will run as an Arena event, with a maximum of two (2) hours for the tournament. However, only the top thirty (30) male players will qualify for the semifinal stage, while the top twenty (20) female players will qualify for the Women’s final.
During the Men’s semifinal stage, the top thirty (30) from the lower league will show their workings, against the FIDE rated players with a rating band of 2000 to 2399 (according to the FIDE list for January 2021).
The top twenty (20) from this stage will then qualify to play against the best of the best Arabs and Africans, who are rated 2400 and above (according to the FIDE list for January 2021) in the Men’s final stage.
For the Women’s final, the top twenty (20) women from the preliminary stage will join those women who have a rating of 2000 and above (according to the FIDE list for January 2021), to decide their online champions for the maiden edition.
In addition to the prizes, the top female player has a right to participate and win prizes in the men’s final round.
After the preliminary round, every round will be played as a Swiss event. Also, both finals will be played while being monitored on the zoom platform. This means that each player will be required to enter the zoom platform, share camera, sound and screen. Each player would also be required to enter the zoom meeting with their names, as they are registered on the FIDE website.
Players, who would like to participate in this event should know that the deadline for registration has now been moved from tomorrow, 19th to Monday, 23rd of February, 2021, by 6pm GMT.
To participate in the event, players must:
Have a lichess.org account
Click and register on the Arab Chess Federation website via the link: https://arabchessfederation.com
Finally, join the championship team on lichess.org accordingly
Below are the various links for each of the stages:
The preliminary stage (for players rated 1999 and below on the FIDE website as at January 2021): https://lichess.org/team/arab-africa-open-chess-championship-2021–preliminary-stage
Men’s semifinal stage (for the qualified 30 players and those rated 2000 – 2399 on the FIDE website as at January 2021): https://lichess.org/team/arab-africa-open-chess-championship-2021–semi-final-stage
Women’s final stage (for qualified female players and those female players rated 2000 and above on the FIDE website as at January 2021): https://lichess.org/team/arab-africa-open-chess-championship-2021–female-final-stage
Men’s final stage (for qualified players and those rated 2400 and above on the FIDE website as at January 2021): https://lichess.org/team/arab-africa-open-chess-championship-2021–final-stage
Only register where your FIDE rating fits in.
We hope everyone enjoys the tournament and that the tournament is cheat free.
